A Midsummer Night’s Dream
The Hawth Ampitheatre
Many of us may be familiar with William Shakespeare’s classic A Midsummers Night’s Dream but 440 theatre’s production of the beloved play well and truly injects the material with fun, boundless energy and limitlessly creativity. The company, aptly named because the show is performed by 4 actors in roughly two 40-minute acts. The set itself is a very basic green backdrop which also serves as a screen for the many quick changes and prop retrievals which take place during the course of the show.
In this version of the play, the characters are based at ASS (also known as Athens Secondary School). The audience is advised that when they are addressed by one of the teachers at the aforementioned school they must respond with ‘Yes, Miss or Yes Sir’ which is strictly adhered to throughout the show. One of the strengths of this production are the many interactions that the cast have with the audience. Which at this performance included (but were not limited to) a ‘bleep test’, an audience member being usurped from their chair for the ‘director’ and many occasions involving those in the front coming into contact with water. Which wasn’t necessarily unwelcome given the heat, but for those who do not like to be so close to the action so to speak it would be prudent to sit near the back.
There were a whole host of weird and wonderful costumes, including my personal favourite. a ‘crown’ made entirely out of Scrub Daddy sponges. This really is a fun and fast show, with each of the actors seamlessly moving from one character to the next, most of which were impressively sporting a variety of different accents. There were also various songs within this show, some played and some performed live by the cast – including what some would refer to as ‘primary school bangers’, numbers which the audience were encouraged to join in with.
This was an incredibly fun show which will have you laughing out loud, and due to the speed in which the show was performed there is certainly never a dull minute. Recommended for ages 7+ which I would agree with, mainly because I think that younger children would struggle to keep up. But traditional Shakespeare this is not, there were some elements which were clearly from the original play, but this could be difficult to keep track of amongst everything else that was going on. So, if you are a fan of traditional Shakespeare then this production may not be what you’re looking for. But if you’re happy for a modern interpretation of the show based in a secondary school setting and fun for all ages then definitely get yourself along to a future performance.
A Midsummers Night’s Dream is playing at venues around the country until 30th August 2026.
Reviewer: Lisa Dawn